OBJECTIVE: The primary objectives were to evaluate the current usage of anti-microbial agents in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Doha, State of Qatar and to correlate this with: a) the infectious disease pattern, b) the isolated microorganisms and their s...

The present study was done to determine if estrogen interacts with excitatory and/or inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitters to alter neuronal excitability within the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) and modulate autonomic tone. First, the role of estrogen in modulating autonomic tone was investigated in ...

The following experiments were conducted to determine if peripherally administered estrogen has an effect on central autonomic tone and whether this change in tone results in an alteration in cardiovascular reflex control. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with thiobutabarbitol sodium (50 m...

The current investigation examined the role of estrogen in the insular cortex (IC) under both normal and ischemic conditions. Experiments were done in anaesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. The effect of systemic 17beta-estradiol (estrogen) administration on levels of amino acids and of endogenous ...

The current investigation examines the significance of estrogen in central cardiovascular regulatory nuclei in modulating autonomic tone and baroreceptor reflex function. Experiments were done in anaesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats. Changes in autonomic tone were assessed by monitoring vagal and ...

Female mammals have an enhanced baroreflex sensitivity compared with their male counterparts, leading researchers to speculate that estrogen modulates autonomic tone. Therefore, this study tests the hypothesis that exogenous estrogen can enhance the baroreflex sensitivity of male rats. Male Sprague-...

Evidence is increasingly accumulating in support of a role for the steroid hormone 17 beta-estradiol to modify neuronal functions in the mammalian CNS, especially in autonomic centers. In addition to its well known slowly developing and long lasting actions (genomic), estrogen can also rapidly modul...

The posterior insular cortex of the rat contains an area of cardiac chronotropic representation within which tachycardia sites occur rostrally to those producing bradycardia. In the current study using ketamine-anesthetized rats, the insular cortex was stimulated for 1 h using a phasic technique syn...

Previous investigations have provided evidence demonstrating that the extracellular release of glutamate into the parabrachial nucleus was significantly enhanced following visceral afferent activation. This period of enhanced glutamate release into the parabrachial nucleus corresponded to a time dur...

The following experiments examine the role of estrogen as a central modulator of autonomic tone and baroreflex sensitivity in the female rat. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were ovariectomized and then supplemented daily for 7 days with a fixed dose of estrogen (5 microg/kg; sc) to produce a stable leve...

In the present investigation, in vivo microdialysis was used to measure the concentration of estrogen in the parabrachial nucleus (PBN) and plasma of male and ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats supplemented with either estrogen (OVX-E(2)) or saline (OVX-S) following visceral afferent activati...

The functional significance of neuropeptides and neurohormones throughout the neuroaxis has been the focus of considerable research over the past 25 years. These "gut peptides" or "reproductive hormones" have been localized within nuclei responsible for the relay of visceral affe...

The role of neuropeptides in ascending visceral pathways was investigated by recording the changes in the response of thalamic neuronal activity evoked by vagal stimulation before and after peptide injection in the parabrachial nucleus (PB). Male Wistar rats (n = 25) were anesthetized with chloral h...

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that selective activation of estrogen receptor subtypes (ERalpha and ERbeta) would be neuroprotective following ischemia and/or ischemia-reperfusion, as well as prevent the associated autonomic dysfunction. The selective ERalpha agonist, PPT, when admin...

Previously we have found that extracellular guanosine (Guo) has neuroprotective properties in in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, extracellular Guo significantly increased in the ipsilateral hemisphere within 2 h following focal stroke in rats, and remained elevated for one week. Therefore, we hypothes...

The present study was designed to determine a dose-response relationship between apocynin and infarct volume as well as to provide a possible molecular mechanism mediating this effect. We tested the hypothesis that apocynin protects against cell death following stroke and reperfusion injury. Apocyni...

Apocynin is a well-known NADPH-oxidase inhibitor currently being investigated for its potential therapeutic use in patients with cardiovascular disease, such as occlusive stroke. However, the use of apocynin as a potential neuroprotective agent has come under criticism due to a narrow experimental t...

Background. Lipoic acid (LA), which has significant antioxidant properties, may also function as a potent neuroprotectant. The synthetic compounds INV-155, INV-157, INV-159, and INV-161 are physiochemical combinations of lipoic acid and captopril. We sought to determine if these compounds have neuro...

Obesity has become an increasingly common health condition over the last
several decades. It has been estimated that this largely preventable disease affects over
one billion people worldwide and that its prevalence will have doubled by the year 2030.
Currently, obesity is the leading cause of preve...

The pregnancy hormone relaxin protects tissue from ischemic damage. The ability of relaxin-3, a relaxin paralog, to do so has not been explored. The cerebral expression of these peptides and their receptors make them logical targets for study in the ischemic brain. We assessed relaxin peptide-mediat...

The present application relates to novel apocynin-lipoic acid covalent conjugates, compositions comprising these compounds and their use, in particular for the treatment of diseases, disorders or conditions that are mediated by oxidative stress. In particular, the present application includes compou...

Resveratrol, a dietary polyphenol with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, has been shown to provide neuroprotection in models of ischemia. However, the mechanism of action of resveratrol-induced neuroprotection remains unclear. Previous work in our laboratory has provided evidence that acut...